President Iain Scott read our land acknowledgment and we sang O'Canada.

Sarge Lyle welcomed prospective members Pedro and Ogla were welcomed members.

Lobsterfest - We are one month away from Lobsterfest and hopefully we are all attending and selling tickets. In Moose Jaw Iain met one chap formerly of the downtown club who is now with a Regina club. He asked me about the dates of Lobsterfest and indicated he would coincide a trip to Winnipeg to take part. This Lobsterfest with its history has a tremendous reach. Jim Forestell reminded members that Lobsterfest is just over a month away. He circulated a volunteer list for the day of the event. He answered a question about the size of lobsters (approx. 1.6 pounds). Contact Cathy to get your supply of tickets cathy.skene@gmail.com.

Wildfires - We are all sending our thoughts to those affected by the wildfires in our Province.

LinkedIn - Thank you Glenn for supporting Fred Wright’s LinkedIn Campaign.

Council of Women - The Council of Women of Winnipeg will mark its 130th birthday this year. As part of their festivities, they are having a celebratory fundraising luncheon on September 28, 2024 from 11 am to 3 pm at the Masonic Memorial Centre, 420 Corydon Ave. The theme for the event is “Rebuilding Relationships One Cup of Tea at a Time”. They are hoping to gather enough China tea cups and saucer sets to have one for each of the attendees at the luncheon. They will have small bags of sumac in the cups (pink tea) and other small items. Hence, they are looking for donations of China tea cups & saucer sets. So far, they have about 90 but are short at least 100. They will collect them (in batches of 8 – 10) around the city. The Council for Women is only 20 years younger than the city and still going strong. Contact President Iain if you can help. https://councilofwomen-winnipeg.ca

Rotary International Conference Iain reminded members that the RI International Conference is being held in Calgary, AB July 21-25, 2025. Mark your calendars!

Ukrainian Project - Mandy Kwasnica reported that they were short of volunteers on Saturday, but everyone pulled together. It helped that some families cancelled. The project is now at 278 families supported with furniture and household goods. A heartfelt note of thanks from a Ukrainian recipient was read. Mandy added that they bought desks from Ikea and will do this more, if funds allow.

Westgrove School - Chuck delivered shoes and boots. It's a bit early for gardening, but stay tuned.

Before we go to dinner… This quote is by John Glenn "As I hurtled through space, one thought kept crossing my mind – every part of this rocket was supplied by the lowest bidder."

David Soper and Cathy Skene gave a summation of the weekend District Conference. The weekend was a well run event held within the conference centre and Western Development Museum which is a world class transport museum.

They had such an interesting weekend hearing from speakers from different backgrounds. The Hope and Mental Wellness theme was dealt with sensitivity throughout interspersed with some very vulnerable moments from those who shared their experiences. The photographs shown at the meeting were just a small sample of the moments ending with a happy puppy when Iain arrived home.

It was such a successful weekend for the forest as bags were sold to members of the conference. We collected $385.00 from the sale of roughly 90 bags. Ed Thompson came forward to collect the proceeds on behalf of the Club's Foundation.

President Iain was delighted to welcome Cathy Skene and David Soper to present their highlights of the weekend's District Conference in Moose Jaw. Our club had good representation along with Cathy and David, Ed & Elaine and Caroline & Iain. Iain cannot express how many they met asked after members of this club. Our members have spread goodwill all over the district. Please welcome Cathy and David.

David began with a positive critique of President Iain's Scottish ensemble at the District Conference. Cathy added that Iain needed to be careful navigating Moose Jaw's strong winds. Our club members attending were impressed by Moose Jaw and the SK. Development Museum. The theme of Mental Health was dealt with respectfully with a range of topics and guest speakers. Some of the stories were emotional. Tears were shed. A highlight was the presentation by Lisa Franks, paralympic. Our club will hear from her at an upcoming meeting. The varied presentations illustrated that mental health problems affect a range of people, rich and poor, successful and struggling.

Another highlight was interacting with 7 youth exchange students. They were very impressive leaders and ambassadors for Rotary.

The DC was also an opportunity to recognize Peter Tonge, incoming District Governor. We should be proud that he is a member of our club. He will travel the District in a special vehicle that will be shared by Peter and Fred Wright.

Happy Bucks

• Jim was happy that the resolution submitted by him and David Newman was passed at district conference, and will now move to the next level.
• Lloyd is celebrating a 50th anniversary.
• David S. was happy to be safely back from Moose Jaw.
• Chuck dropped off the water bottles and newspaper to Westgrove School. They are now well supplied with water bottles, but newspapers are an ongoing need. Keep bringing it to meetings.
• Mandy was happy that there were four no-shows at the Bridge of Hope event on Saturday because they were short of movers. The day was chaotic but successful.
• Ed Thompson was happy to have driven all the way from Winnipeg to Moose Jaw to Winnipeg in his motor home.